My sister tried to kill me when we were younger.  I was walking several feet in front of her as we made our way down a dirt road when she threw a HUGE rock and hit me squarely in the back of the head.  Blood gushed from my crushed skull, but after some deliberation, they decided against life-flighting me to a major trauma center. Throwing stones CAN be a bad thing.

I am not sure if it was the blow itself or the passing of several years since that has affected my memory of the event.  The rock may not have been huge.  The wound may not have gushed blood. I think my skull remained intact. I was probably never in need of life-flighting.  The band-aid probably came off later that evening.  The pebble shattered into a million pieces as it bounced off my head.  However, the event underscored what many parents tell their children: throwing stones can be dangerous.

Yet, the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, tells us that there is a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones (Ecclesiastes 3:5).  In a figurative sense, we all have stones we need to jettison and some we need to collect.  Friday’s blog will look at the kinds of stones we need to collect, but for today, let’s think about throwing stones away that clutter our hearts.

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Throwing Stones Away

Whether clearing a field for cultivation or cleaning a parcel of land for construction, unremoved stones get in the way.  Many of us have collected some figurative stones in our lives that hinder our growth and keep us from experiencing God’s best.

Unconfessed Sin

Sometimes we try to rationalize our sin, other times we try to blame others.  At times we try to hide our sin, other times we minimize its presence in our lives.  The only effective way to deal with sin when (not if) we sin is to admit it and bring it to the cross.  Jesus has already provided forgiveness for all of our sin, but we must first own up to it or we cannot receive forgiveness.  God promise to forgive each and all of our sins. (1 John 1:9)

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Unforgiving Hearts

We, who have received undeserved forgiveness from God, should most readily offer forgiveness to others who hurt us.  Unforgiveness does not harm the person to whom it is directed, only the one who harbors it.  In fact in His model prayer (Matthew 6:12), Jesus tells us to ask God to forgive us to the degree we forgive others.  We can throw away the stone of unforgiveness when we release the wrongs others do to us.

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Unnecessary Guilt

There is a great difference between actual guilt and perceived guilt.  Actual guilt accompanies a wrong.  If I sin, I am guilty of committing a sin.  Once I have done as suggested above and confess that sin, the guilt is erased (Psalm 32:1-2).  Often, however, we let the devil speak his lie to us that we remain guilty, we “feel” or “perceive” guilt.  Just like all of his other lies, this perceived guilt is not a reality in God’s eyes after we confess the sin.  He blots out our sins and does not remember them (Isaiah 43:25).  Throw away that stone of guilt and forgive yourself.  God has.

These are three stones that clutter many hearts, and you can probably identify more.  Look for the hard spiritual rocks that hinder your walk with God.  What bad attitudes, habits, and desires keep you from experiencing God’s best in your life?  Throwing stones is OK when you are throwing away what clutters the field of your hearts and keeps you from spiritual productivity.

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Coming Friday:  Gathering Stones